Guardian
by Silver Dog Demon
Summary: Puck's sister has been having nightmares lately.  But they're more than just nightmares.  Can Puck help her?   Warning: deals with sexual abuse.  Not explicit.


A/N: Hey guys, this is my first foray into Glee fanfiction so please be gentle. I must **warn** you though, this fic involves **sexual abuse of a minor** so please don't read if you can't handle that sort of thing. I tried not to be too explicit, so I hope it's not awful.

Anyway, I hope you like it and feedback is always welcome!

Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit from this story.

Guardian

Puck thought it a little strange that his nine-year-old little sister suddenly wanted to sleep in his bed every night. She would claim nightmares and look at him with those big brown eyes they shared and he could just never say no. He'd sigh, throw the covers open and pat the space beside him and she'd jump right in, falling asleep quickly.

Noah never noticed the pair of eyes staring at them through the crack of his door. And he wouldn't know the truth about his sister's nightmares until it was nearly too late.

Two months had passed since Sarah had started having nightmares, waking Noah up, and crawling into his bed. Noah didn't mind too much, it was his baby sister after all. But being woken up so many times was taking it's toll and Puck was exhausted. So tired, in fact, that he was skipping Glee that afternoon to go home and take a nap before dinner. He was sure he'd get an earful from Berry but, at the moment, simply didn't give a damn.

He pulled into the driveway and put his truck in park, pulling the keys from the ignition. Puck grabbed his bag and pulled his cell from his pocket to put it on silence, knowing it wouldn't be long before the Glee kids started harassing him about missing practice. Whatever. Climbing out of the truck and heading inside he noticed that John, his mother's boyfriend, was also home. Sarah should be home too - her school got out earlier than the high school and she took the bus home.

Puck made his way into the house and upstairs quietly. He was just moving past Sarah's room on his way to his own when he heard things he shouldn't be hearing coming from her room. Sounds that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

He crept towards the door and opened it slowly. What he saw nearly made him sick but the blind rage consumed him first.

John was _touching _his sister. Touching her in ways no little girl should ever be touched. Sarah was frozen with fear as John whispered things in her ear as he stroked himself. His back was to the door. Sarah's frightened eyes met Puck's.

"What . . . the _fuck?" _Puck growled, approaching John and wrenching him away from his baby sister and throwing him to the floor. He was shaking with fury. John tried to scramble away from the looming Puck. Sarah had curled up on her bed, shaking and crying.

"I swear, I never went all the way-"

Puck lunged and landed on top of John and started throwing punches.

"The fuck does it matter you 'didn't go all the way;? You were touching my sister! You sick asshole!" Puck screamed, beating John, aiming every fist at his face.

The rage consumed him, he couldn't stop. This monster was responsible for Sarah's nightmares. Responsible for her change in behavior - not eating, depression, less outgoing as she usually was. The creep had hurt his little sister and that thought alone fueled his anger. He couldn't hear John's pleas for him to stop. Couldn't feel the pain in his busted knuckles as they tore into flesh and bone. But Puck did feel the small hands grabbing his wrist. And suddenly he felt the tears in his eyes, the pain in his heart, when he looked into his sister's worried eyes.

"Stop Noah . . . If you hurt him anymore you could go back to juvie . . . and you won't be here to protect me anymore . . ." Sarah's eyes were full of tears and her lip was trembling, her whole body shaking.

"Oh God, Sarah . . ." Puck wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. Standing up, he scooped her up and cradled her against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest.

John groaned on the floor, his face a bloody pulp. He was unconscious. Puck carried his sister downstairs, pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and dialed 9-1-1. He explained the situation to the operator and she promised the police would be there soon. He hung up and set Sarah down on the couch.

"I'll be right back, okay? Just gonna make sure John doesn't go anywhere 'til the police get here alright?" Puck was kneeling in front of her and holding her hand. Sarah just nodded, not making any eye contact.

Puck made a quick stop in the kitchen, grabbing the duct tape from under the sink. He then went upstairs and dragged a stirring monster from his sister's room, '_tainted it enough, you fucker' _ and bound John's hands and feet with the tape. Puck left him in the upstairs hallway and returned to his sister in the living room. Scooping her up in his arms he sat down, holding her in his lap.

"Why didn't you say anything Sarah?" He asked softly. She didn't answer immediately.

"Because . . . I thought it was all a bad dream . . . all those nights I thought I _had _woken up from a nightmare . . . but then . . . today happened . . . he came into my room and . . . and he-" Sarah swallowed a sob and clung to her older brother.

"Shhh, it's okay . . . I understand little one. You don't have to tell me anymore." Puck had one arm wrapped around Sarah, his other hand stroking her hair. He just didn't understand how this could've happened. How he and their mother could have missed it. And that was going to haunt him forever. His sister was hurting because he hadn't protected her. The thought wrenched a sob from him and he held Sarah even tighter. "I'm so sorry, Sarah."

A short while later the police and an ambulance arrived. Puck told the cops where to find John and handed his sister over to the care of the paramedics but he refused to leave her side. He climbed into the back of the ambulance with her and stayed out of the way of the paramedics. The police were going to have to bring John in for medical attention as well.

Once at the hospital Sarah and Puck were taken to an exam room. She had to be examined for any injuries and physical evidence. Puck needed his hands to be looked at. He refused to leave Sarah's side even for the examination; didn't even mind how tightly she was gripping his hand during the exam. He just made her look at him and whispered comforting words to her. It was over quickly.

The exam revealed no physical injuries and confirmed that John had at least been telling the truth about how far he'd gone. Puck barely breathed a sigh of relief. The damage was done. His sister's innocence was still gone.

After their injuries were taken care of, cops came into the room to obtain their statements. The statements had to be given separately so Puck gave Sarah's hand a squeeze, telling her it would be alright, before following the second officer outside to give his own statement. Afterwards he sat outside Sarah's room, waiting.

By then their mother, Deborah - a nurse at the hospital, had been made aware of the situation and had rushed to Sarah's room. Puck saw her coming and stood up, suddenly finding his arms full with a sobbing woman.

"Oh God, Noah! My little girl, my beautiful little girl! How could this have happened? It's all my fault Noah! I should have known . . ." She sobbed, holding onto him for dear life.

"It's not your fault, Ma. Neither of us saw it . . ."

"It's my job to know!"

Noah knew there was no point in arguing. They would both feel guilty no matter what anyone said. Instead he just held his mother and buried his face in her shoulder to hide his own tears. Not long after, the door to Sarah's room opened and the officer stepped out.

"We've got what we need for now to put a case together. We'll be in touch." The officer looked as heartbroken as they felt.

After he left, Puck and his mother entered Sarah's room and Deborah quickly engulfed her youngest in a tight hug, tears again making themselves known.

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry! That man is never gonna hurt you again okay?"

Sarah nodded, continuing to hold onto her mother for support. She reached out for Noah too, gesturing for him to come closer too. She scooted over and Puck sat down on the bed beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and laying his head atop hers. They stayed that way for awhile, until the doctor came in and explained everything to Mrs. Puckerman - that Sarah had no physical injuries to worry about but he had already scheduled an appointment with the hospital psychologist for later this week. He also prescribed Noah pain meds for his hands. Otherwise, Sarah was free to go and they could go home.

They picked up something to eat on the way home but none of them ate much and all of them were silent. Once they arrived home Sarah went to the bathroom and it wasn't long before they heard the shower running and Deborah went upstairs to make sure Sarah was okay. Puck figured it was a mother's sixth sense thing telling her that her daughter needed her. He settled for planting himself on the couch, too many thoughts plaguing his mind. He had no idea how to process everything, how to move forward, where to go from here.

He was pulled from his thoughts by his mother calling his name. He ran upstairs to see her standing in the doorway, clothes sopping wet, anguish written all over her features.

"She needs you, Noah."

Puck stepped past his mother and into the bathroom. It was steamy and the shower was still going. Sarah was still in the shower, fully clothed, sitting on her knees, and hunched over, gripping her arms. He could hear her crying over the sound of the water. He didn't think his heart could take much more of this.

Noah pulled his boots and socks off then stepped into the shower behind Sarah. The water was still warm and pelted him with it's relentless flow. He knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder and Sarah turned to look at him, her eyes so full of pain. He wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled his baby sister into his lap once again. With his arms around her waist and chin on her shoulder he began to sing one of her favorite songs. It had new meaning to him now, given current events. He rocked her gently to the beat, paying no mind to the water now soaking him through.

Some things we don't talk about,

Rather do without,

Just hold a smile . . .

Fallin' in and out of love,

The same damn problem,

Together all the while . . .

You can never say never,

While we don't know it,

Time and time again,

Younger now than we were before.

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Picture: You're the queen of everything,

Far as the eye can see,

Under you're command.

I will be your guardian,

When all is crumblin,'

I'll steady your hand.

You can never say never,

While we don't know it.

Time, time and time again,

Younger now than we were before.

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

We're falling apart,

and coming together,

again and again.

We're crawling apart,

but we pull it together,

pull it together, together again.

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Don't let me go,

Sarah's crying had stopped and she wasn't quite so tense and Puck loosened his hold.

"You ready to let Ma help you?" Sarah nodded with a sniffle. Puck stood up and climbed out of the shower. Their mother was standing there with a teary smile on her face. She placed a hand on Puck's arm and mouthed 'thank you' as he grabbed a towel, returned the small smile, and went to his room to dry off and change.

By the time he was dry and in some comfortable clothes it was well into the evening and Puck was more exhausted than he thought he could ever be. He crawled into bed but made sure to leave the covers open on one side. Before long he was fast asleep.

He was woken by a soft voice whispering his name.

"Noah?"

He rolled over and patted the empty side of the bed. "Hop in."

Sarah crawled in and curled up as close to him as possible and Noah wrapped an arm around her, already fast on his way to getting back to sleep. '_We'll get through this,' _was his last thought. Sarah followed soon after, managing a peaceful night's sleep in the safety of her brother's arms.

The End

A/N: For this story I wanted to explore Puck's relationship with his sister. My family has a lot in common with his - single mom, older brother, younger sister (by 7 years). That dynamic is extremely close to my heart because my older brother and I are very close and I've always viewed him as my protector. This story was about siblings dealing with a traumatic event and how Puck helped his sister cope. Sure, he's a total badass but I think his baby sister is someone he can make an exception for, someone he doesn't mind showing his softer side to. And I think Sarah needs that - her brother makes her feel safe but also loved. And he's one of the only people in the world who can get through to her.

And I totally didn't expect this fic to have a song in it but I was listening to music while writing and "Never Say Never" by The Fray came on and it just sort of clicked.

I would really love to hear some feedback. I've written 'traumatic' things before but never anything involving sexual abuse of a child and I want to be sure I did it justice without taking it too far. So . . . please review?

-Silver


End file.
